


History Repeats Itself (The Other Way Around)

by AshJuillet



Series: Challenges [59]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animal Attack, Funny, Gen, Hippogriffs, Hogwarts Forbidden Forest, Humor, Innuendo, Lucius Malfoy Being an Asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 11:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30003879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshJuillet/pseuds/AshJuillet
Summary: When Fabian and Gideon sneak into the Forbidden Forest, Lucius decides to follow them and get them into trouble. Unfortunately, they end up having to face a herd of angry Hippogriffs, all of whom are intent on trampling them to death. Why? Because Lucius, the brilliant young man he is, decided to hex Gideon and hit one of the Hippogriffs instead. AU!
Relationships: Fabian Prewett & Gideon Prewett, Lucius Malfoy/Gideon Prewett
Series: Challenges [59]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2108157





	History Repeats Itself (The Other Way Around)

Before they stepped out of the castle, Fabian looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was following them. Gideon peeked around the enormous charcoal-grey doors at the forest that lay ahead of them. There was no one in sight. The night sky was stippled with stars, like luminous pin-pricks of glinting silver.

He whispered, “Coast is clear, Big Nose. Ready to take off?”

Fabian rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore the ridiculous nickname. “Yes, let’s go.”

The twins snuck down the stairs, keeping to the shadows. When there weren’t any hiding places left, they sprinted as fast as they could, silently thanking their Quidditch Captain for the gruelling training he had put them through. They reached Ogg’s hut and held their breaths as they tiptoed past it.

Once they stepped into the Forbidden Forest, they released their breaths and grinned at each other. _So far, so good._

They slowly made their way into the dark forest, ignoring the soft whistling of the wind and the crunching of leaves and twigs under their feet. When an owl hooted as it flew overhead, Fabian instinctively touched his pocket but remembered they had left their wands in their room. He grimaced and muttered, “We really should have snuck our wands out.”

“It’s against the rules, Fab,” Gideon said, rolling his eyes. “Besides, Nikolai locked our wands because he doesn’t trust us.”

“Well… We _did_ try to give him our fake wands instead of the real ones,” Fabian said, reminding him of the wands they had bought from Zonko’s Joke Shop. “No wonder they don’t trust us.”

Gideon simply shrugged it off and continued walking down the moss-veiled trail snaking through the care-worn forest. The arcane limbs of the trees resembled knotted arms as they rose ever upwards. The trees stood proudly, like venerable fortresses. The swirling perfume of the time-worn forest was heady and warm, wafting up from the forest floor. The crackly mattress of the forest was strewn with wild wood sorrel, and Gideon crouched to pick some up. He bit into it and let out a soft moan. The taste exploded on his tongue, and it was sublime!

Fabian groaned and said, “Gid, we don’t have time for eating! We need to find the Hippogriffs soon. We don’t have all night. And stop eating random things off the ground. You don’t know where it’s been.”

Their mission was simple but dangerous: get a Hippogriff feather without dying or getting caught by anyone in the process. Their roommates had double-dared them to go into the forest without their wands, and the twins had been unable to say no—probably because it was a double-dare, but also because the twins never backed down from anything. They were Gryffindors, after all.

Gideon turned his head and shoved the remaining sorrel towards his twin. “But it’s so good. You _have_ to try this! Go on!”

Fabian sighed, rolled his eyes, and took the herb from him. He bit into it carefully and immediately spat it out. He wasn’t a fan of tangy food, and the leafy plant seemed to be made entirely of lemon zest. He handed it back to Gideon and muttered, “You know I don’t like lemon-tasted _any_ thing. It’s too sour for me to handle.”

“Eh, well, more for me, then,” Gideon said with a shrug. He continued chewing on the emerald-hued leaf, bending down to pick up some more. He shoved the leaves in the pockets of his robes and continued walking. Fabian shook his head but followed him.

Unbeknownst to them, Lucius Malfoy—the Slytherin Prefect and the bane of their existence—was wrapped up in his finest black robes and following them at that very moment. During his patrol, he had seen the twins leaving the castle and had decided to follow them and get them into trouble. Ever since the twins had mocked the length of his lush platinum-blond hair back in their first year at Hogwarts, Lucius had never let any opportunity pass by to make _them_ feel inferior. It was petty of him, yes, but a Malfoy was nothing if not spiteful.

Lucius grimaced as he gingerly stepped into the forest, disgusted by the squelchy sensation underfoot. He looked down and almost swore out loud when he saw the soft mud already caking on the bottom half of his new dragonhide shoes. He had put them on earlier—along with his finest silk robes—to show them off to the underprivileged Slytherins in the dungeons, but alas! There hadn’t been anyone around.

Now, it seemed like he would have to get rid of the shoes. After all, a Malfoy never wore anything twice—especially when the items were filthy. _This just won’t do._

Lucius scooped up his cloak to stop it from getting smeared with mud and began walking after the sound of voices a few hundred feet ahead. He listened to the twins arguing about something or the other, and he rolled his eyes, used to their squabbles by then. Lucius pulled the hood over his head to hide his recognizable blond hair, not wishing for them to see him following them.

Huge roots spread-eagled the ground, twisting like the sharp ridges of a Hebridean Black. The foliage soon became thick and lush, forming an arch of fairytale-green above Lucius’ head, but he didn’t bother looking at it. Malfoys didn’t notice anything unless it was directly connected to them or their wealth. 

Arthritic boughs, gnarled with age, dripped their bounty of nuts onto the path, but Lucius simply kicked them to the side, uninterested. Briars, brambles and berry trees flanked the trail, making it impenetrable on either side. Coils of vaporous mist enwrapped the shaggy heads of the oak trees. They writhed around them, sensuous and illusory. Sieves of mist caressed the lichen-encrusted bark. Adding its phantasmal gas to the damp breath of the forest, it glided with deadly intent. It deadened sound, haunted glades and poured into empty spaces. If Lucius’ intent wasn’t on catching the twins, he _might_ have appreciated the aesthetic.

A few minutes later, Lucius decided that following the twins wasn’t worth sacrificing his beauty sleep for, and he was about to turn around and walk back to the castle. Just then, he heard one of the twins say, “There they are!”

Lucius immediately tiptoed behind a tree to see what they were after. A sepulchral silence overhung the thick hedge. Nothing stirred, nothing shone, nothing sang. A hollow echoing, like the hushed tones of a great, slabbed cathedral, entombed the wood. 

And then, shuffling noises came from deep in the interior, deadened by the cunningly woven web of leaves. A herd of Hippogriffs came into view, and Lucius understood the twins’ plan.

The Hippogriffs had the bodies, hind legs and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings and heads of giant eagles, with cruel, steel-coloured beaks and large orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly-looking. Lucius knew he did _not_ want to get attacked by one of those.

Just when the twins stepped up to one of the largest Hippogriffs, whose head was lowered and eyes shut, Lucius revealed his presence to them by dramatically striding out from behind the tree, his black cloak billowing about his feet.

“Aha! I’ve caught you both red-handed!” he exclaimed, pointing his wand at them.

At Lucius’ sudden appearance, Fabian and Gideon shot upright from where they were crouched. The Hippogriff beside them whipped around, its large orange eyes narrowing in Lucius’ direction. It squawked and pawed at the forest floor, huffing loudly.

“What are you doing here?” Fabian asked, bewildered. He raised his hands to calm the irritated Hippogriff, and fortunately, it relaxed enough to turn away from them. “Were you… _following_ us?”

“What did you expect, Fab?” Gideon teased, smirking at Lucius. He winked at the blond and said, “I’m sure your father taught you to follow your _dreams,_ and baby, I _am_ your dream, aren’t I?”

Lucius bristled with indignation at the innuendo and snapped, “Oh, please! You are a living _nightmare_ , Gideon Prewett.”

“Grab your dream catcher and get ready for me, Lucy,” Gideon teased, grinning at Lucius mischievously.

“Call me that again and I _will_ hex you.”

When Gideon’s grin widened, Fabian knew that he was about to say something that would inevitably piss Lucius off. Gideon had always flirted with the Slytherin to annoy him to no end, and Fabian was proven right when Gideon said, “ _I_ can show you some magic, too. Let’s head into the bedroom—or do you want me to show it to you right here?”

Losing his composure, Lucius sliced his wand through the air and barked, “Flipendo!”

Unfortunately for Lucius, Gideon ducked, and the spell hit the Hippogriff’s rump. It let out a mighty roar, reared up, and pawed at the air with its forelegs before it began running through the herd. The other Hippogriffs were alarmed by the sudden uproar and started galloping in a hurry to escape.

Fabian grabbed Gideon’s arm and yanked him towards the trees before they could be trampled on by the frantic creatures. Trying to look graceful, Lucius attempted to dodge an angry Hippogriff by twirling on the spot, but its large hooves came down on his arm and knocked him flat onto his back. Lucius’ scream could have shattered glass when his wand slipped from his fingers and rolled into the midst of the stampeding creatures. 

“My wand!” Lucius screamed, trying to get to it, but to his horror, a hoof came down and snapped the wand into smithereens. “No! Curse you, vile beasts!” 

The Hippogriffs were not happy about that. They roared their outrage at the insult and ran at Lucius, intent on trampling him to death. 

Fabian and Gideon quickly reacted. Gideon placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, distracting the Hippogriffs for a second. As they whirled around, flapping their wings and flailing their legs, in that minuscule moment, Fabian threw himself at Lucius, knocking him to the side. 

They both landed hard against the tree, but Fabian didn’t waste any time crying out in pain. Although his arm hurt from where he had banged it against the tree trunk, Fabian grabbed Lucius’ hood, heaved him up, and began shoving him up the tree. “Get your heavy arse up already, Malfoy!” he roared, trying to get him to climb the tree.

  
“I’ll have you know that I weigh a perfectly good fifty—”

“Stop talking about my man’s arse and save him!” Gideon screamed, darting away from them. The Hippogriffs followed him, and he tried to come up with a way to save them all. There was no way they could survive this with all their limbs intact.

Lucius scrambled for purchase on the surprisingly slippery trunk, and Fabian grunted as he heaved him onto his shoulders. Lucius managed to find a foothold in the bark and climbed up onto a branch, hugging the trunk for dear life and muttering curses under his breath. 

Following the twins into the forest was the worst decision he had ever made. His cloak was ripped and torn to shreds, his dragonhide shoes were still muddied, and his right arm stung from where the Hippogriff had attacked him. He would have a word with his father about the ghastly beasts.

Fabian crawled up beside him, his face red with exertion. He scooted closer to Lucius and wrapped his arms around him. Lucius immediately shoved him away. “What in Merlin’s name are you doing? Get your filthy hands off of me.”

“If you don’t want me to kick you off this branch, you better let me hold on. The Hippogriffs are returning,” Fabian snapped, glaring at Lucius, who grimaced and reluctantly let Fabian clutch onto him. Lucius made a mental note to Obliviate himself later on—after a long overdue shower.

Meanwhile, Gideon came up with a plan. It wasn’t a very good one, but it was the only thing he could think of at the moment. He sprinted back towards Fabian and Lucius, and when he darted past their tree with the herd of Hippogriffs in tow, he yelled, “Fab, tell Lucy I love him!”

Before Fabian could reply, Gideon crossed his fingers and ran straight towards a large tree that stood a few feet away. Fabian and Lucius watched with wide eyes as Gideon used the trunk for leverage to backflip right on top of a Hippogriff’s back.

“He’s mad, I tell you,” Lucius whisper-yelled, and Fabian agreed with him for once.

The Hippogriff reared and tried to buck Gideon off of him, roaring and screeching in anger. Gideon kept his arms wrapped around its neck, whimpering in fright. The other Hippogriffs began to stomp their feet, hoping Gideon was thrown off, but when they realised Gideon was too stubborn to let go, their anger turned into mild irritation.

The bronze Hippogriff huffed and puffed, but Gideon kept his arms firmly wound around its neck, patting it gently and murmuring softly in its ear. Fabian and Lucius watched as the Hippogriff slowly calmed down, and they both let out a sigh of relief, loosening their grip.

Once the Hippogriffs were all pacified by Gideon’s soothing voice, Fabian whisper-yelled, “Can we come down now?”

Gideon nodded as he slid off the Hippogriff’s back and landed gracefully on his feet. The Hippogriffs trotted off into the darkness once again, and Fabian quickly hopped down from the branch, almost twisting his ankle. He glared at Gideon, who was snickering under his breath. “Shut up.”

Gideon grinned and turned to look up at Lucius. “You can come down now, Lucy.”

“Don’t start with that Lucy nonsense again,” Lucius hissed as he wrapped his legs around the tree’s trunk and slithered down, grimacing at how mundane the action was. When he felt a pair of eyes blatantly ogling him, Lucius glared over his shoulder at Gideon, who didn’t look the least bit ashamed at being caught. “Stop staring at me.”

“I was just imagining myself as the tree, that’s all,” Gideon said sweetly. When Lucius’ cheeks reddened at his words. Gideon crowed in delight. “You’re _blushing!_ ”

“Malfoys _don’t_ blush! This is an outrage,” Lucius snapped, squaring his shoulders to hide his embarrassment. “And do you know what else is outrageous? You!”

“How long did you have to think to come up with that line?” Fabian asked, smirking at him. “Honestly, I’ve met bread smarter than _you._ ”

“Do not insult my intelligence, Prewett,” Lucius threatened before he whirled around and pointed at Gideon, who was casually leaning against a tree. “At least I’m not idiotic enough to mount a furious _Hippogriff_.”

“Yeah, I could have mounted something else instead,” Gideon said, winking at Lucius, whose face reddened even more. “Aww, I love it when you blush, Lucy-Wucy.”

“Do you _want_ him to hex you that bad?” Fabian demanded and turned to Lucius. “Oh, I forgot. The Hippogriffs snapped your wand, didn’t they?”

Lucius glared at the twins and snarled, “This is all _your_ fault! Now we’re stuck in the middle of the forest, I don’t have my wand, _and_ those beasts injured my arm! Wait till my father hears about this.”

“Who asked you to follow us in the first place?” Fabian scowled, and Lucius readied himself to begin arguing with him. 

Gideon raised his hands and said, “Okay, stop arguing, both of you. We should get back to Hogwarts before anyone else finds us here.”

“What about the _thing_ we came for?” Fabian asked, and Gideon grinned as he whipped out a long feather from his pocket. “How did you…”

“Eh, I asked the ‘Griff nicely,” Gideon said with an offhanded wave. “Now, come on, let’s hurry back.”

Lucius held his arm to his chest and said darkly, “Don’t think just because you saved us that I’m _not_ going to report this to Headmaster Dippet.”

“Do you want _us_ to tell everyone that _Gid and I_ saved you from the Hippogriffs?” Fabian asked, batting his lashes at Lucius, who bristled in indignation and immediately shut up. Fabian smirked and said, “Thought so.”

They began to make their way back to the castle, and Lucius bickered with them all throughout the walk. He complained about everything from the heat to the mud beneath his feet, from the miasma of rotting branches to Gideon’s swaggering. 

By the time they reached the castle doors, all three of them were drenched in sweat. When Gideon pointed it out to Lucius, whose hair was sticking to his forehead, the blond scowled. He tried to flip his hair over his shoulder but failed. 

“Malfoys don’t _sweat_ . We _glow_ . Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do than be seen with _you_ two.” Lucius strode off towards the Slytherin dormitory, intent on taking a hot shower and applying a face mask.

Fabian and Gideon snickered as they watched him leave, and they snuck down the hallways towards the Gryffindor Tower. Fabian shook his head and muttered, “I still can’t believe you jumped on a _Hippogriff_. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking we needed to survive this encounter, or else people would make fun of us dying in a stampede of Hippogriffs. Can you imagine the horror? And how would Molly react when she woke up in the morning? She would bring us back from the dead just to scream at us for all eternity.” 

The twins shivered at the thought of their elder sister and unanimously decided to not let her find out what they had done that night.

Gideon suddenly grinned and said, “One good thing did happen, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Did you hear Lucy’s scream when the Hippogriffs attacked? Merlin, that was hilarious! He could wake up the dead if he wished to!” The twins laughed as they thought of Lucius’ ear-splitting screech.


End file.
